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It was a blessing for me to study Psalms with mentors at Hebrew Union College and Vanderbilt Divinity School. Now, I study Psalms almost every day.
Those of us who use wheelchairs have accepted the idea that we need to find another way to do this, as we are simply unable to assume a standing position. My question, however, is for everyone else.
We count the Omer every night...
Kol ha'Olam - the whole world was glued to Boston this week. The beautiful weekend, followed by an amazing race, with perfect running conditions. The only heartbreak, ...
For better or for worse, my son doesn’t yet know how scary this world can be – and I’m not eager to break it to him.
I was told, once, that if we, as Jews, remember only one prayer, the Sh'ma is that prayer. It defines us in the declaration that God is One. It is a command: "Listen!" It is hope - in unity, in our...
Black tights. Black dress. Careful makeup, a touch of jewelry, and heels. A hooded raincoat, to stave off the gusty downpour.
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As a true Bat Yisrael, daughter of Israel, I find that I am never far from wrestling with my beliefs and with God. However, as much as I wrestle with my Judaism, I still feel a sense of wonder...
War is not holy.
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Havdalah is a short service performed in the very narrow space that separates the holiness of Shabbat from the ordinariness of the rest of the week. The service calls us to be...
I wanted this poem to reflect that sometimes-jarring feeling of love and remembrance, past and present, what could have been and what is.
I am terrified of ladders. It is not the going up-- the ascent, the rickety step up on tiny see-through slats...
This poem was written in memory of Kristallnacht (Nov. 9-10, 1938) in honor of those who suffered
Judaism calls upon us to work in partnership with God. In addition to prayers for healing, what can we offer to those whose souls are ailing?
This is the season when families start thinking about summer plans – more specifically, summer camp for their kids.
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A couple of weekends ago, I did something totally beyond my comfort zone. Along with 20 other Jewish activists, I attended a contemplative, mostly silent, meditation retreat through the ...
Why pray to a silent God who is not looking down at us and waiting to hear what we want or legitimately need?
Elul, the Hebrew month that precedes the High Holidays, is traditionally a time of both rejoicing and somber reflection when we take stock of our spiritual selves and our lives. Starting this year...
On my trip to Disneyland, I missed Papa intensely as we rode through the brightly colored, musical attraction, but our seventh graders filled the boat with so much singing and laughing that made it...
I wrote this poem in honor of a dear man, a beloved pillar of my synagogue who died last week, thinking "after the words, after the music, after our very breath - what comes after that we can...
In response to last week's tragedy in Newtown, CT, Rabbi Joe Black of Temple Emanuel in Denver, CO, a noted Reform Jewish musician, wrote a song called "Give 'Em All Guns," which he shared on...
Reform and Conservative Jewish leaders in North America and Israel are speaking out to tell Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that they will not stand for unequal treatment under Israeli law.
I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between their protest and our Havdalah services – and the deep differences those parallels represent.
Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish new year, begins Sunday, September 29, at sundown. As we prepare, emotionally and spiritually, for these Days of Awe, we offer three prayers for the season.
As Reform Jews, our task is to challenge America's conscience and not stand idly by the blood of our neighbor. We offer words, prayers, and concrete ways to take action to prevent...
As Reform Jews, our task is to challenge America's conscience. Here, yet again, we offer words, prayers, and concrete ways to take action to prevent gun violence.
As we remember that dark day in our history and honor those who lost their lives, here are a few resources to help you mark the anniversary in ways that are, we hope, emotionally, mentally, and...
This poem, written by a student at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, commemorates the victims of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in October 2018.
On the walk to work, I noticed the eerie quiet on the street. Even the kids - native New Yorkers too young to know firsthand the events of that terrible day and its aftermath - seemed subdued as...
Last month, I received this "Voice Use Update" email message from my cell phone company:
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In most ways, my observance of Yom Kippur won’t be much different than thousands of other Jews in pews across North America.
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This original poem touches on faith and belief in God - and discovering the courage to acknowledge the power of prayer.
A prayer for the Jews of France after today’s violence in Toulouse. See also: “At the Hand of Anti-Semitism: A Yizkor Prayer.”
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Author of life
Source and Creator,
Grant a perfect rest under your tabernacle of peace
To the victims of the bombings in Boston,
This is a memorial prayer for first responders, posted today for the fire fighters who lost their lives battling the Yarnell Hill fire. It’s group prayer for those who have lost their lives...
This is a prayer in response to the massive mudslide in Snohomish County, WA. It’s an adaption of two prayers that I originally wrote for the people of Haiti and have subsequently revised for...
A prayer for the people of Kansas City and the Jewish community after yesterday’s deadly violence targeting the Overland Park JCC and Village Shalom assisted living home. Here are...
As the search continues for three missing Israeli teens, fear turns to prayer in Israel and among people of conscience around the world. On Saturday, Israel confirmed that Gilad Shaar,...
The wait, over. The worst, confirmed. Gilad Shaar, Naftali Frenkel, and Eyal Yifrach, three kidnapped Israeli teens who disappeared on June 12, were found dead today. Baruch Dayan Emet, may...
Here’s a new prayer for safety of IDF soldiers during Operation Protective Edge. It’s based on a prayer called "For the IDF: Operation Pillar of Defense," which I wrote nearly two years ago for...
This is a prayer for the Jews of France after the terror attack on a kosher market in Paris. The prayer appears first in French followed by English. It’s an adaption of “For the Jews of...
Together, standing at the foot of Mount Sinai, the Jewish people witness the moment when God descends to the mountaintop to enter into a covenant with a fledgling nation. This new meditation for...
This is a prayer for Jews to love one another. I wrote it a year ago, but it echoes as a response to the violence perpetrated at the Kotel this week. Charlie Kalech and I were beaten after we...
More than 4,000 people are feared dead in an 7.9-magnitude earthquake that hit Nepal on Saturday morning. Here are two prayers for the people of Nepal, adapted from prayers I wrote for the people...
On Wednesday night, nine people were killed during a shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, an historic black church in Charleston, S.C. The oldest AME church in the south,...
This is a prayer of solidarity and healing after Friday night’s terror attack in Paris.
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In Orlando early Sunday, 49 people died in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S history, in an act of domestic hate and terror focused on a popular gay nightclub. May the memories...
This prayer is shared memoriam of the victims of racist terror and massacre of LGBT people in Orlando, FL, last Sunday. In the end, love wins.
I offer this prayer of solidarity and healing after Thursday night’s Bastille Day truck attack in Nice, France.
Election season is in full swing, and it’s been a difficult and contentious presidential election so far. This Election Day, think carefully, consider well, and cast your vote – and not just for...
